"The first victory we can claim is that our hearts are free of hatred. Hence we say to those who persecute us and who try to dominate us: ‘You are my brother. I do not hate you, but you are not going to dominate me by fear. I do not wish to impose my truth, nor do I wish you to impose yours on me. We are going to seek the truth together’. THIS IS THE LIBERATION WHICH WE ARE PROCLAIMING."
Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas (2002)

In a blog post at the time I made the following comparison: "Secretary John Kerry asking the Castro regime in Cuba to help in Venezuela today is like asking Jack the Ripper to help stop knife violence in London in 1888."

Nearly a year later the results of this approach can be seen and it is a failure. Not only has Venezuela descended into dictatorship but it is a failed state. The press is already asking: "What went wrong in Venezuela?" Consider for a moment the following:

The judge spent over a year in prison where she was raped, beaten, and threatened repeatedly with death. Judge Afiuni was kept under house arrest until 2013 but when she was diagnosed with cancer, it was lifted. Seven years later the harassment and continued threat of imprisonment continues. It is a message for the entire judiciary which Afiuni clearly stated in 2009:

"There is no judicial independence. I'm here as the president's prisoner. I'm an example to other judges of what happens if you step out of line."

Cause and effect? Did State's meeting with Cabello lead to Gen. Reverol's appointment

Venezuelan strong man Nicolas Maduro named General Nestor Reverol, his new interior and justice minister one day after Gen Reverol was indicted by a US court on charges of abetting cocaine trafficking. Maduro dismissed the charges against Gen Reverol as a "US conspiracy". The fact that U.S. government officials have been willing to engage in formal diplomatic discussions with suspected drug traffickers may have played a role in the calculation to name the indicted General.

The lack of the rule of law, the widespread infiltration of drug traffickers and corruption in the regime plays a role in the economic implosion of the country. Free markets need a regulatory environment bound by the rule of law which is non-existent in Venezuela. The slow motion imposition of a socialist economic model ruled by the military has compounded the disaster. It has gone beyond just a human rights crisis into full blown humanitarian crisis.

Reuters in Caracas reported on August 3, 2016 that "growing numbers of young women are opting for
sterilizations rather than face the hardship of pregnancy and
child-rearing. Traditional contraceptives such as condoms or birth control pills
have virtually vanished from store shelves in Venezuela, pushing women towards the
hard-to-reverse surgery."